Roster shaping not done for Eagles

What we know about the Philadelphia Eagles after the flurry of roster moves they made Friday and Saturday to get their roster down to the NFL limit of 53 players is this: They're overloaded at some spots and deficient at others.

This has general manager Howie Roseman working the phones in an attempt to get more balance. So what we see now is not necessarily what we're even going to get on opening day in Cleveland, much less when they hit their crucial stretch run in November and December.

The Eagles on Saturday subtracted a cornerback (Trevard Lindley) to add an offensive lineman (Nathan Menkin, off waivers from Houston) but certainly aren't done.

Think about what they did the day before by cutting the pay of Darryl Tapp, one of six defensive ends they decided to keep. They not only cleared more salary cap space to maneuver this year, but made the hard-hitting veteran even more palatable in a potential trade if they want to address a shortage somewhere else, such as safety.

The Eagles have five safeties, a healthy enough number by itself. But those five include Colt Anderson, who will practice for the first time on Monday after just having coming off the PUP list and will not be ready to start the season; newcomer David Sims, added in a trade with Cleveland on Saturday; and second-year man Jaiquawn Jarrett, who still has not proved he can play at this level.

Bottom line: if Nate Allen or Kurt Coleman were to suffer an injury, the Eagles still could be facing big trouble on the back end of a defense that will at least occasionally allow a ballcarrier to get loose in there because of their complete sellout to defending the pass.

Why they left themselves so short at wide receiver — only four healthy bodies are on the roster now — also is a bit of a mystery that was not cleared up one bit by Roseman on Saturday night.

"Well again you talk about the practice squad and your whole 61-man roster and being able to bring those guys up at some point if you need it," Roseman said. "We've gone deeper at that position in the past but we feel comfortable going into this game and certainly we'll wait and see how long Riley [Cooper, who has a broken collarbone] is going to be out."

On the other hand, they have all kinds of running backs, quarterbacks and defensive ends. And they're young. Unusually young. Coach Andy Reid will count on 24 players with one or less years of NFL experience to help save his job, which owner Jeffrey Lurie flat-out admitted on Thursday is on the line.

Undrafted rookie running back Chris Polk was one of those young players they just couldn't risk trying to carry on their practice squad, which would have left him exposed as a free agent.

"You talk about production and potential with Chris Polk," Roseman said, "and every time he touched the ball something positive happened. He really has the skill set that fits this offense. He can catch, he can pass protect, he can run inside and outside.

"And so for us once you get past really 40 [players], we're trying to get the best guys that can come on our team and maybe last for a long period of time as we try to build it. Chris just did everything that was asked for to make this football team."

Polk joins Bryce Brown, a seventh-round pick, and second-year back Dion Lewis as someone capable of stepping in for LeSean McCoy at any time.

Because they're so strong at defensive end, they felt they were able to get by, at least temporarily, with four defensive tackles. Again, this all plays into their sellout to the pass, which they feel opponents will be forced to do against them on almost every play because of how proficient they expect to be on offense.

The Eagles love to run out ahead. They're the Steve Prefontaines of football, and they think they've built a defense to match up, with ends being able to line up inside on most downs to further enhance their dangerous pass rush.

"What we do this time of year is we study," Roseman said. "We study what we've done in the past, we study what other successful teams have done, and when you look around, there's not a lot of teams carrying five defensive tackles. We've done it because we have a heavy emphasis on our defensive line and, again, I point to that 61-man roster that we talked about.

"So even though you have four maybe on the 53, and four that may be active on your 46 [on game days], that doesn't preclude you from going out and getting another guy."

The Eagles' overall talent collection is the most formidable of the Reid era, which literally began a millennium ago, in 1999.

Now it is Roseman's job to balance the overloads and bring them better players at safety and linebacker, where many questions remain even about their starters.

One more thought to ponder before signing off: Rookie strong side Mychal Kendricks has been so good in the preseason that it's only a matter of time before he ends up where he belongs with this defense, which is in the middle.

Ahead of DeMeco Ryans.

This is the state of flux that best describes the Eagles as they forge ahead toward a season that will either cement or spoil Reid's legacy, and maybe Roseman's as well.

The Eagles on Saturday announced C Chase Beeler, TE Chase Ford, FB Emil Igwenagu, WR Marvin McNutt, and LB Ryan Rau have been signed to their practice squad. Three openings remain on the squad, which has an eight-player limit. All but Beeler, who spent last season on the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad, were in camp with the Eagles this year.